— 


t 
lam- Wise. 


How 

Uncle John’s 
Omissionary Sunday 
School Became 


Commissionary 


BY LUCY T. WILSON 


The Sunday School Cooperating Committee 

American Baptist Missionary Union 
Ford Building, Boston, Mass. 

Woman’s Baptist Foreign Missionary Society 
Ford Building, Boston, Mass, 

Woman’s Baptist Foreign Missionary Society 
of the West, 1318 Masonic Temple, Chicago 








HOW UNCLE JOHN’S 
OMISSIONARY SUNDAY SCHOOL 
BECAME. COMMISSIONARY 


jeveWacdl oft 
UNCLE JOHN'S OMISSIONARY SUNDAY SCHOOL 


ES, that was just the word by which his favorite niece 
had described the Sunday school of which he—Uncle 
John— for years had been the widely loved and respected 
superintendent. What did she mean by “omissionary”’? 
Naturally enough, it hinted at omissions of some sort; 
were they omissions which ought to be omitted or were 
they omissions which ought not to be omitted? 
Priscilla’s visit to her uncle and aunt was nearly at an 
end; but in all the weeks which she had spent with them 
she had only occasionally mentioned the school, and then 
in the most neutral of terms. It was Sunday evening 
and they were just entering the house upon their return 
from one of the concerts for which the school was fa- 
mous, when Uncle John said, half-banteringly, “Well, 
Priscilla, in all the time you’ve been here, you’ve hardly 
mentioned my hobby, the Sunday school; what do you 
think of it?” Priscilla had hesitated a moment, and then 
with smiling lips, but with serious eyes, had replied, 
“Why, Uncle John, I think it’s a splendid school,—that 
is—I mean—I think it’s splendid as an omissionary Sun- 
day school!” And then she had rushed up-stairs to her 
room before bewildered: Uncle John could say a word. 
Now, Uncle John’s Sunday school was regarded as a 
model by every one; the teachers’ meetings were held 


[3] 


MLO we VOR CVC, SO HAS TO Wes sae ey 





with regularity and with results which told for the good 
of the school life; the grading was so skilfully arranged 
that the fortunate pupils could climb the hill of Scriptural 
knowledge without undue fatigue; the concerts, picnics, 
indeed all the social occasions of the school proper and 
of the flourishing Home Department were anticipated 
with eager pleasure by old and young alike; there was a 
Baraca Class and a Philathea Class; there was a Cradle 
Roll of the loveliest babies ever; in short, the school was 
conducted according to the most approved first-of-the- 
century methods. Uncle John for the life of him could 
not see what omission was made of anything desirable, 
at least. And yet, in connection with the work of which 
he was in charge and for which he was in a large meas- 
ure responsible—the work of training young lives for 
future Christian usefulness—Priscilla had used a word 
which implied a lack of something. What could it be? 

Had he not been so conscientious a man and had he 
not had so much confidence in his niece’s judgment he 
would have at once dismissed the matter as a piece of 
youthful nonsense; but Priscilla was a college-bred girl and. 
really had, as Uncle John expressed it, “an uncommon lot 
of common sense.” It must be confessed that of late 
this opinion had been a little shaken from the fact that 
she had given up a very lucrative and flattering position 
as a teacher in order that she might become a mission- 
ary. While Uncle John was a firm believer in mission- 
ary effort and gave generously towards its support he 
thought with many other good Christian people that 
mediocre -ability was plenty good enough for the heathen, 
and he was not slow in emphasizing his conviction that 
Priscilla’s brilliant talents would be wasted in _ this 
venture. 

In the meantime Priscilla was wondering how she 
could explain to her uncle just what she meant without 


[4] 


Sunday School Became Commissionary 


appearing in the unlovely role of the Younger Person 
giving points to the Older Person. After much thought 
she determined to resort to an artifice which she had oc- 
casionally used as a coating for moral or philosophical 
tablets which thereby could be more easily swallowed 
by her pupils—the writing of little parables for illustrat- 
ing special lessons. 
The next morning shé handed her uncle the manuscript 
inclosed in an envelope upon which was written, “Not 
to be opened until you are at the office.’ Uncle John 
kissed her and left for his place of business where he 
read the following: | 

“Many years ago there lived a physician who devoted 
his spare time to seeking a remedy for an inevitably fatal 
disease which every year swept away its hundreds of 
thousands of victims. But it was not until he was a very 
old man that his diligent search was rewarded. There- 
upon he called unto him certain of his associates and 
after telling them of his discovery, said, ‘My days are 
nearly spent and I wish to make you the ambassadors for 
spreading the glad tidings far and wide. Do not, I en- 
treat you, confine it within the boundaries of our .own 
town, but proclaim it to all peoples and to all places. Per- 
chance, most of you, for sundry reasons will be unable 
to go to remote localities, but surely there will be those 
who will gladly go in your stead, the necessary funds to 
be provided by those who will have received the priceless 
benefit, of this boon to mankind.’ } 

“The good physician soon passed away and his faith- 
ful friends began at once to carry out his wishes. Words 
cannot express the amazement and joy over the wonder- 
ful cures which every day were effected. But strange 
and sad to relate, centuries even crept by and still there 
were many lands to which the good news had not been 
sent and where the dread sickness still claimed its thou- 


[5] 





EF 0 ATT OD SONS NO HTS IS ta 


sands of victims every day. The Administrators in whose 
hands had been placed the business matters connected 
with this work found themselves in a most distressing 
position; for they were obliged to turn deaf ears to the 
incessant cries for help. Incredible as it may seem, many 
of the people who had been saved from a horrible death 
by means of.the good old physician’s remedy refused 
to give money for the rescue of others, especially those 
in distant lands, declaring, if not in words, then by deeds, 
that they did not believe in this far-away work; that their 
own homes demanded all their care; they themselves, 
their relatives and friends had been cured,—why bother 
about any one else? 

“Many were the conferences held for the discussion 
of this disgraceful problem but with indifferent results, 
until at last on one of these occasions, a wise leader arose 
and said, ‘My friends, I am convinced that our failure 
to achieve the highest success is due to our neglect of 
foundation work; that in all these years, neither we nor 
our fathers before us have recognized the importance of 
training the children in this matter. To be sure, we have 
told them about the remedy, and how they themselves 
may be cured, but never a word of that part of the good 
physician’s message that it was to be world-wide, and that 
they who experience its benefits are to be the agents for 
its bestowal upon others. What wonder, then, that the 
selfish conception thus gained in the most impression- 
able period of life should rule in after years? So strongly 
did this simple truth appeal to the promoters of the work 
that plans were soon made for implanting within the 
hearts and lives of the children the principle of unselfish- 
ness, which was the real essence of the large-hearted 
physician’s last message. And in even one generation, the 
wisdom of this course was vividly manifested in the won- 
derful enlargement of the work.” 


[6] 


Dugnavyeschool became COmmissionary 





It was not a difficult matter for Uncle John to read in 
this little parable the story of the Great Commission; 
full well he knew of the yearly financial struggles of the 
Board and of the failure of the churches to arise to the 
opportunities of the whitening harvest-fields. But it had 
not occurred to him that he held in his hands the key to 
the future success of the work; that in his otherwise 
model school, the very heart of Christianity was omitted. 
Uncle John did a deal of hard thinking. 

When he met his niece at night, he patted her cheek 
and said, “Well, little girl, that’s a very pretty story you’ve 
written for your old uncle! and now I'll recite the les- 
son I’ve learned from it,—Omissionary Sunday schools 
turn out omissionary Christians; omissionary Christians 
make omissionary churches; and all this makes the Boards 
omissionary, too!” 





[PAIN Ti 
UNCLE JOHN'S COMMISSIONARY SUNDAY SCHOOL 


NCLE JOHN was a man who did not believe in let- 

ting his yesterdays spoil his to-days and to-morrows. 
He began to draw plans for the rebuilding of his former 
Sunday school ideal, the very foundation of which, he 
now perceived, was so weak. 

“Priscilla,” said he at the breakfast table, on the morn- 
ing after his mastery of the little missionary lesson which 
his niece had given him, “I wish you’d send to headquar- 
ters to-day for marching directions for this missionary 
work in the Sunday school; it’s new business to me, you 
know, and I want to start it right.” 

“Tt will be some time before you have a plan ready to 
propose to the school, I presume,” remarked Aunt Ruth. 


(7] 


flow Uncle Sdn’ Ss Omisstonary 





“Some time!” echoed Uncle John, smiling indulgently 
at his little wife; “why, I’m going to begin right off, next 
Sunday! I’ve been guilty of the ‘Great Omission’ long 
enough,”’—here he glanced roguishly at Priscilla as he 
made this little play on the word which she had used,— 
“and I’ve got to ‘get busy quick’ to make up lost time!” 

Aunt Ruth looked at him with mild reproof in her soft 
eyes; Uncle John was the very best man- in the world, 
of course; but he would occasionally use the obnoxious 
“weeds of rhetoric.” “Well, then,” he amended, in a 
serious tone, “I'll use Scripture language: ‘The King’s 
business requireth haste;’ and I can’t begin too soon to 
repair as far as possible, the damage I’ve done to that 
business!” 

The literature having arrived in due season, Uncle 
John pored over its pages with the deepest interest; pen- 
cil in hand, he marked suggestions which seemed adapta- 
ble to his school needs, commenting now and then on 
what he read in his characteristic manner. 

“T declare!” he exclaimed, “this little pamphlet ‘Hints 
and Helps for the Sunday School’ must have been printed 
on purpose for green fellows like me; and all for five 
cents! And this book here, ‘Missions in the Sunday 
School,—the woman who wrote that knew what she was 
about; why, it’s worth its weight in gold—just jammed 
full of all sorts of ideas for running a missionary Sun- 
day school! And this capital little paper, ‘World-Wide,’ 
we must have that in the Intermediate and Primary 
classes, sure; and here’s something in your line, little 
woman”—Aunt Ruth had a class in the Primary Depart- 
ment—“lots of pictures with little stories tacked on— 
‘Orient Picture Stories!’ And look at this picture book! 
‘Up and Down in Bhamo Town.’” 

With the assistance of Priscilla and Aunt Ruth, Uncle 
John made selections from his “marching directions” 


[8] 


Sunday School Became Commissionary 








which imparted a distinct missionary flavor to the Sunday 
school session held on the following Sabbath. On the 
wall facing the pupils was a copy of the Great Commis- 
sion lettered in red and blue. Below it was an enlarged 
page from the Missionary Prayer Calendar, wreathed 
in evergreen; this was Priscilla’s idea, and Aunt Ruth 
had placed upon the desk a photograph of the missionary 
mentioned on the calendar page as the. special sub- 
ject of prayer for this particular Sabbath. On the 
walls in the classrooms and departments were also hung 
texts in which the words especially conveying the idea 
of God’s plan for a world-wide kingdom were printed in 
capital letters, this being also the case with the Great 
Commission; as for example: “The field is the WORLD,” 
“God so loved the WORLD that he gave his only begot- 
ten Son that WHOSOEVER believeth,” etc., “Go ye into 
ALL THE WORLD and preach the Gospel to EVERY 
creature.” 

The opening hymn sung, Uncle John announced that 
the reading of the Scripture connected with the Sunday 
school lesson would be omitted. “For,” he explained, 
“we're going to read it in our classes in a few moments, 
so that it’s entirely unnecessary to make it a part of our 
opening exercises. To-day our Scripture lesson will be — 
found right here on the wall; let us read it in concert 
and make those words in capitals talk a little louder than 
the others.” And in a manner which satisfied even wide- 
awake Uncle John, the Great Commission was read. 

And then Priscilla, in sweet and unaffected fashion, 
gave a brief talk about the missionary named on the Cal- 
endar page; this was followed by the pastor’s prayer, in 
which special mention was made of this missionary and 
of his field. A missionary hymn closed these simple but 
effective exercises, which had occupied about fifteen 
minutes. Uncle John had wasted no time in public la- 


[9] 


LL 00 CO NCL CNS OFA NEAES EO THESES OIE ay, 





mentation over past negligence, neither did he mention 
the word “missions”; he had introduced this new feature 
as the most natural thing in the world, and as such it had 
been received. 

At the next teachers’ meeting, plans were formed for 
making missions a permanent feature of the school life. 
The second Sabbath of each month was to be set apart as 
Missionary Sunday, when the opening and closing ex- 
ercises were to be of a missionary character and the of- 
ferings to be devoted to denominational missionary 
work. The teachers were constituted a missionary com- 
mittee, each in turn to have the charge of the exercises 
for Missionary Sundays, with the privilege of appoint- 
ing sub-committees for details, as music, mite-boxes or 
envelopes, topics, maps, charts, literature, pictures, or any 
feature likely to promote interest. Four times a year an 
entire Sunday was to be given up to the consideration 
of missions, the pastor, or a missionary, or a missionary 
official to speak in the morning, and a concert or stereop- 
ticon talk for the evening exercises. 

As for the exercises themselves, sometimes they were 
carried on by one or more classes, the manner of pre- 
senting the topic left to the members, and when this was 
the case there was sure to be no lack of variety spice. 
News from the field, or anecdotes from some mission- 
ary’s life, wth special music, would make up the program; 
now and then, the little folks would occupy the time, with 
sand-map exercises, or motion songs, and occasionally, as 
one of the greatest of treats, a letter from Priscilla, tell- 
ing of her work on the field, would be read to the school. 
Incidentally, one of the most interesting features of the 
Sunday school session, whether on Missionary Sunday or 
not, were the terse interpretations of the Sunday school 
lessons from a missionary point of view, given by Uncle 
John. 


[10] 


Sunday School Became Commissionary 














Then there were the missionary socials—how delight- 
ful they were! A Japanese fete, a Chinese supper, a curio 
evening, missionary tableaux, stories, the picnic meetings 
in the summer-time—these are only a few of the “Mis- 
sionary Good Times” enjoyed by Uncle John’s Sunday 
school, and at all of which he “was a boy again,” a mov- 
ing spirit in all the pleasure and profit of these occasions. 

The annual Sunday school Christmas exercises—when 
the Intermediates gave “Helping Santa Claus,” was voted 
the “best ever.” 

Even the graduation requirements were supplemented 
to harmonize with the new spirit which pervaded the 
school, for now the graduates from the departments must 
learn a Scripture verse or passage relating to missions— 
* for the Intermediate grade, Romans x. 13, 14, 15; for the 
Primary, the Great Commission, and the like. 

And the effect of all this upon the school? Just as al- 
ways, Obedience to the Master’s commands in this case, 
was followed by His blessing. The roll of members was 
much longer; the intellectual horizon became wider; the 
spiritual life grew deeper; and the church of which the 
school was a part was greatly strengthened and blessed. 
Surely this mission-loving school of the present will be- 
come a mission-loving church of the future. 


[11] 





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